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^^^ I see what you did there.
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Bidengate Breaks... err... down
- Thread starter Jimmy Higgins
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Yeah, it's a stupid charge. While I don't agree with the unlimited gun rights garbage the QOP is going for I think they took the easy route rather than the right route. What should be illegal is actually possessing (in hand or the like) a gun while impaired. Simply saying you can't have both makes it easier to charge (no need to prove the guy was impaired, and who cares about the rights of drug users) but isn't fair. (We've done the same thing with DUI--they made it easy to convict the guy who fell asleep at the wheel but the current law also convicts people who have "control" of the car but have no intent to drive. Say, sleeping it off in the parking lot of the bar.) (And I agree with the law allowing carrying a gun while in a bar--the designated driver. It's especially an issue in states that say no guns where alcohol is sold for consumption--which includes a lot of places that aren't alcohol businesses.)
Copernicus
Industrial Grade Linguist
The gun charge goes away after Biden jumps through some hoops. The other two misdemeanors carry up to a year in jail, and he may actually get jail time of a month or two, if the judge is as conservative as the prosecutor, David Weiss. Weiss was specifically kept on as a prosecutor because he was charged with digging up dirt on Hunter Biden, and the Biden administration didn't want to appear to cover it up. Trump had hoped that Weiss would find more serious charges surrounding the trumped up Burisma scandal and other dirt on Hunter Biden's activities, but these charges were the only thing they could find evidence to nail him with. Ironically, the Republican House committee was set up to target the Biden administration for "weaponizing government", but the reality is things like the David Weiss investigation that took over four years at a huge cost to taxpayers, only to recoup a couple hundred thousand dollars in lost tax revenue. And Congress is still spending a huge sum to keep investigating Hunter Biden.
Jason Harvestdancer
Contributor
Justice for the elite, gotta love it.
Copernicus
Industrial Grade Linguist
I wouldn't call being the target of a 5-year federal criminal investigation just because he's the son of a president "justice for the elite". He agreed to plead guilty to these charges because he was technically guilty of the crimes, but such crimes are normally not brought (as in the case of the gun charge) or they are resolved by civil fines and penalties without involving any court (as in the case of the failure to report income). This is special treatment for the elite--specially harsh treatment.
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Name three people who have gone to jail under the same circumstances as Hunter.
Jason Harvestdancer
Contributor
Example 1
Turn out the cops were called at to the scene because the guy was acting erratically and threatening his neighbours. So nope.
Example 2
Congrats. This is legit and it's bullshit. Even worse, it appears federal prison is a great place for recidivism because Isca Johnson got arrested again earlier this year. I honestly wonder what his life would have been like if he wasn't arrested for such a bullshit charge in 2019.
Example 2
Each of the people charged were already under investigation from the DEA, had prior convictions and intended to distribute. Not the same.
So well done JH. One of your examples is similar to Hunter Biden. It's worth pointing out Isca Johnson looks slightly different to the other people you used as an example so it could reinforce Hunter was targeted because of some implicit bias. With Hunter it's obvious - he is Joe Biden's son so the Trump appointed prosecutor wanted to score points. I'm not sure what the bias was behind Johnson though.
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Not equivalent.
Close but no cigar.
Drug dealers. No evidence Hunter ever sold drugs. As a matter of fact, Hunter has never been arrested for drug possession.
Copernicus
Industrial Grade Linguist
In most of these rarely prosecuted cases where a weapon was found in connection with drug possession, the defendant had been involved in far more serious felony offenses, for example, violent crimes in the case of Isca Johnson. Drug distribution would also be something of a trigger, because those trafficking in narcotics are often involved in violence.
Hunter Biden did not fit the typical context in which that particular crime has been prosecuted in the past, but David Weiss had an ulterior motive. Like John Durham, he was specially charged with investigating Donald Trump's perceived political rival, Joe Biden. The hope was that Republican suspicions and claims about Biden would turn up some kind of crime that would validate them. Neither Durham nor Weiss came up with anythnig close to what was expected of them, and Durham had a particularly bad record on finding anything to prosecute. For Weiss, the felony gun charge and two misdemeanors, although small potatoes, was at least a victory conviction. Normally, the gun charge would not have been brought in his particular circumstances (11 days of gun possession and no hint of drug trafficking or violence), and the misdemeanor charges would have been settled with fines and perhaps other sanctions outside of court. From Hunter Biden's perspective, it was a way to end the long investigation by admitting to crimes he did commit without facing serious penalties, although he could still get some jail time, if the judge is another Republican wanting to get a little revenge on Joe Biden through his son's misbehavior.
Jason Harvestdancer
Contributor
Lying on a Federal Firearms Application is considered a major crime. Especially around here where people think that guns cause people to become criminals.
Drug users aren't allowed legally to own guns.
All three cases match.
Drug users aren't allowed legally to own guns.
All three cases match.
Copernicus
Industrial Grade Linguist
Jimmy Higgins
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I think Jason and the alt-right are mistaken here in judging what matters. It isn't that he is the President's son. It is he has access to very good lawyers. Like Trump (or OJ Simpson). Access to great lawyers is what helps people take charges that could lead to jail and become more about plea deals.
If Jason wants to be angry at anything, it'd be the upper crust establishment that is able to use their access to lawyers to get away with a boatload of stuff.
Copernicus
Industrial Grade Linguist
The two-tiered justice system is something that upsets everyone except those in the top tier. I can't speak for what Jason's real motives are, but everyone else is talking about the fact that Hunter Biden is Joe Biden's son. The two misdemeanor charges and rare gun charge were the best deal that Trump's prosecutor, David Weiss, could get after search for crimes to pin on Hunter Biden for 5 years. They also brought closure for Hunter Biden's ordeal as the target of that investigation. He was always going to have to deal with the tax issues, and the gun charge seems likely to result in just probation, unless the judge has something against Biden.
If Jason is really concerned about the upper crust getting away with stuff, he may now want to turn his attentions to the Trump administration. There are still questions over why the Saudis gave Jared Kushner $2 billion six months after he left the White House. They could have bought a lot of Supreme Court justices with that kind of dough. Why Kushner? Of course, we can all still continue to be concerned about Hunter Biden's laptop in our spare time.
Jimmy Higgins
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I think Jason is content with his self-appointed role as 'conscience of the liberal'.
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PolitiFact - Fact-checking claims about Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, and China
As Election Day nears, President Donald Trump and his supporters are urging greater scrutiny of Hunter Biden, the son of
www.politifact.com
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They're barely even trying now.
It’s interesting that those signs (inaccurate imitation of screen, anachronistic photo) are the information needed to KNOW it is fake, and yet, so many people will see that evidence and still not know what is going on.
blastula
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I doubt that image is actual evidence from an any official report, it's just a graphic someone reporting on the story made.
Doesn't matter anyway.
Garland denies whistleblower claims of DOJ interference in Hunter Biden investigation
Attorney General Merrick Garland pushed back Friday against claims from IRS whistleblowers that the Justice Department interfered with the investigation into Hunter Biden, saying more broadly that attacks on the department’s independence are corrosive.
www.pbs.org
TomC
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"Reporting" seems like a strong word in this context.
Tom